Danish warship Absalon captured a pirate vessel; as a result of the operation held off Somalia, 14 hostages were released and 25 suspected pirates were arrested. Absalon was acting under NATO Operation Ocean Shield aimed at protection of civil shipping from pirate attacks. “The operation went as pla
Marine safety concern, BCB International, has warned world leaders to consider the dangers of using armed guards on board vessels, which may have tragic and unintended consequences. The leaders are due to meet next month in Kenya at an anti-piracy conference. Some commentators believed that the use
Anticipating that the pirates will not take a break over the holiday period, neither will the EU NAVFOR units patrolling around the Horn of Africa and in the Somali Basin. Whilst back at home in Europe the families of the deployed EU NAVFOR personnel celebrate this very special season of the year, t
Pacific Fleet (PF) task unit headed by large ASW ship Admiral Panteleyev attending the international anti-piracy campaign in the Gulf of Aden on Dec 19 arrived in the capital city of Seychelles Victoria paying informal visit. The warship was met on the pier by Russian ambassador to Republic of Seych
On the morning of 17 December, following coordination between the staffs in Task Force 508 and 465, EUNAVFOR Flagship SPS PATIÑO provided fuel to the Danish frigate ABSALON operating as part of the NATO counter-piracy task force. The huge expanse of the Indian ocean, where a number of different Task
The Spanish auxiliary oiler and replenishment ship, the SPS PATINO, Flagship of the European Union Naval Force Somalia, with the Force Commander, Captain Jorge Manso Revilla embarked, has recently completed a “first” for the mission by escorting a three ship convoy of ships chartered by the World Fo
Deputy Commander Operation ATALANTA Rear Admiral Christian Canova and newly appointed EUNAVFOR Force Commander Captain Jorge Manso paid a visit to NATO Operation Ocean Shield Force Commander, RADM Sinan Azmi Tosun, onboard his Flagship TCG Giresun. With representatives of NATO and coalition Counter-
A team of 24 troops from Uganda, part of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) received vessel protection training from French and Estonian troops in Mombasa onboard FS FLOREAL, which is operating as part of the EU NAVFOR. The training was planned as part of ongoing improvements in capability and
In Djibouti on 7 December, RAdm Christian Canova FRAN, Deputy Commander EU NAVFOR, transferred six powerful outboard motors which had been confiscated from Somali pirates to Colonel Abdourahman Aden Cher, Chief of the Djiboutian Navy. The engines were taken from small skiffs which had been stopped b
NATO warship USS De Wert prevented a suspected pirate dhow from engaging in acts of piracy and forced it back to the Somali coast making further acts of piracy impossible at this time. While engaged in a replenishment at sea, USS De Wert received intelligence reports that a dhow acting suspiciously
The current year has brought a record-breaking income to Somali pirates hijacking ships and crews for ransom, said deputy director of EU NAVFOR – Operation Atalanta in the interview to online Bruxelles2. According to the admiral, pirates have obtained over $135 mln ransoms in 2011, while in the past
In Djibouti on 6 December the Change of Command ceremony of Commander Task Force 465 was held on board the EU NAVFOR German frigate FGS BAYERN. Rear Admiral Thomas Jugel handed over the responsibility to Captain Jorge Manso, Spanish Navy, in a ceremony attended by military and civilian guests, inclu
USS Carney (DDG 64), part of NATO’s counter-piracy task force Operation Ocean Shield, worked with other NATO forces and coalition partners to disrupt pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 5. A Japanese maritime patrol aircraft patrolling the area on counter-piracy operations spotted a suspicious
On 03 December, EU NAVFOR welcomed the German frigate FGS LUEBCK to EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA. Commanded by Commander Martin Ruchay, the ship and her 219 crew members will operate in the area of operations of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea for the next two months. Her task
